A novel method for preparation of tissue microarray.

AIM: To improve the technique of tissue microarray (tissue chip). METHODS: A new tissue microarraying method was invented with a common microscope installed with a special holing needle, a sampling needle, and a special box fixing paraffin blocks on the microscope slide carrier. With the movement of microscope tube and objective stage on vertical and cross dimensions respectively, the holing procedure on the recipient paraffin blocks and sampling procedure of core tissue biopsies taken from the donor blocks were performed with the refitted microscope on the same platform. The precise observation and localization of representative regions in the donor blocks were also performed with the microscope equipped with a stereoscope. RESULTS: Highly-qualified tissue chips of colorectal tumors were produced by a new method, which simplified the conventional microarraying procedure, and was more convenient and accurate than that employing the existing tissue microarraying instruments. CONCLUSION: Using the refitted common microscope to produce tissue microarray is a simple, reliable, cost-effective and well-applicable technique.

[A novel method for fabrication of tissue microarray].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Tissue chip (tissue microarray, TMA) is one of the most important biochip techniques, just following the gene chip and the protein chip, which is one of the most important functional genomics and proteomics research methods in the post-genomic era. However, the present TMA technology has certain shortcomings, such as lack of advanced instruments, tedious procedure, and low sampling accuracy, etc. This new method was designed to improve the technology of TMA. METHODS: A common microscope was installed with a special holing needle, a sampling needle, and a proper box to fix paraffin blocks on the microscope carrier. With the precise mechanical control of microscope, the holing procedure on the recipient paraffin blocks and sampling procedure of core tissue biopsies were performed with the re-equipped microscope. The precise observation and localization of sampling regions were also performed using the same microscope equipped with a stereoscope. RESULTS: The new method simplified TMA procedure, and the whole process of holing, locating, and sampling was performed with the same instrument on the same platform. The single-use holing and sampling needles were first applied to maintain higher accuracy and to avoid the tissue remains and contamination among different samples. And high-qualified tissue chips of colorectal tumors were produced successfully by the new method. CONCLUSION: Using the re-equipped common microscope to fabricate tissue microarrays is a simple, reliable, cost-effective,and well-applicable technique.